Emma Raducanu heavily bandaged as she calls a medical stoppage

Emma Raducanu was forced to call the physio after losing the first set of her second round match at the Slovenia Open. The top seed led Anna-Lena Friedsam 5-3 but lost four games on the rebound as the German won the opener 7-5, with Raducanu needing medical time off to have his thigh heavily bandaged left.

Raducanu is playing in her first tournament since being knocked out of the US Open in the first round after arriving in New York as the defending champion. Now 83rd in the world, she begins her climb up the rankings at this week's WTA 250 event in Portoroz.

The Briton had an impressive opener against Dayana Yastremska and was leading 6-2 5-3 30-0 when the Ukrainian suffered a wrist injury and was forced to retire. And she started strong in the second round against Friedsam, leading 5-3 before dropping four straight to lose the first set.

Raducanu then called the physio on the court, requiring a medical time-out as she had her left thigh tightly bound before continuing the match in the second set. It seemed to work, as she broke to start set number two and was also given anti-inflammatories, but didn't take a second and final medical break as her leg continued to bother her.

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The Portoroz seed then raced to force a decider by winning the second set 6-0, although things got more competitive in the third and final set. Raducanu could still be seen shaking his leg and screaming in frustration as the qualifier held for a 2-1 lead after one of his shots was disallowed, disagreeing with the decision.

"No, no, no, no, no," she cried. "No way, that's the biggest hook I've ever seen," she added, referring to what she believed was a backhand shot that curled down the line, but l umpire called it with Friedsam also raising her hand in challenge when she thought there was no incoming call.

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Raducanu is trying to reach his third quarter-final of the season after reaching the last eight at the Citi Open in Washington this summer, and at his first official clay court tournament in Stuttgart earlier this year. She has already added another WTA 250 event to her schedule for next month as she tries to move up the rankings after dropping 72 places on Monday.

Raducanu will return to the Transylvania Open in his father's home country of Romania when the tournament begins on October 10. And after reaching the second round in Potoroz, she is already back to 74th in the world in the live ranking. .